If I Can Be Serious For A Moment 11.26.09: Socially Serious

Posted by Chris Lansdell on 11.26.2009

Stuck for a topic, I harness the power of social media to inspire me. The result is a look at nepotism, racism and concussions. Fit for CNN!

A New Frontier

Hey yo. Welcome back to If I Can Be Serious for a Moment, your weekly dose of intelligent wrestling discourse with me, Chris Lansdell. After a hectic few weeks of wrestling news, it seems as though the industry has fallen into a pre-holiday lull. While this is good news in that nobody is getting caught with drugs, quitting or worse, it does make it a challenge to come up with good ideas for wrestling columns. I was able to come up with a few ideas for the rest of the year, but this week was missing. I literally have no clue what I should write about. How will I get out of this one? Well first I'm going to hit the

BANNER!

A Serious Social Experiment

So I performed a little experiment: Wednesday morning, I sent out a tweet (@Lansdellicious) asking for help in gathering column suggestions. I didn't know how many (if any) I would get before deadline, but even one would have been better than the void that is my creative brain right now. So for the first time ever, I give you a semi-live wrestling column!

Head Games

From reader David Redkey: Since brain injuries are such a hot topic in football (and the whole Chris Benoit thing), you should write about TBIs caused by wrestling…

Wrestling, or to be more specific WWE, stopped wanting to be called a sport several years ago. Even the more competition-oriented companies like RoH tend to downplay the sport element of what they do. It's not surprising then that at a time when the two most physical major sports leagues in North America (the NFL and NHL) are closely examining head injuries, professional wrestling is keeping very quiet on the subject. Even Major League Baseball, hardly known for its smash-mouth action and intense physicality, is reviewing the types of helmet they use in the wake of a serious head injury to a Florida Marlins player. Studies are being done, former players are calling for changes and people are bringing up names of superstars who were forced into early retirement due to concussions. Names like Eric Lindross, Pat LaFontaine, Troy Aikman and Steve Young all had their careers shortened or ended by concussions. Yet these same voices aren't really heard around wrestling, despite having its fair share of head injuries.

It's bizarre, really. When you look at people like Chris Nowinski, founder of the Sports Legacy Institute which does research on the brains of deceased sportsmen to determine the effects of repeated impact to the head and a former WWE talent, why isn't more being done to change the way wrestlers are performing? The spectre of Chris Benoit, whose brain functions had been proven to be affected by his numerous concussions, hangs over the entire issue…and still nobody is fighting for reforms as hard as they are in other sports. It's bad enough in WWE, where most of the really dangerous head-dropping moves have been banned or restricted to special occasions, but in TNA where the wrestlers are less restricted the situation is more tenuous. Even in these somewhat policed environments there is the potential for accidents, and they still allow things like chair shots to the head and falls from high areas that can't be healthy. Indies like RoH and PWG are even more dangerous, as their fans react with huge cheers for dangerous head and neck bumps, and that's without talking about places like CZW where "ultraviolent" is the name of the game. And of course, there's Japan. For those who don't follow Japanese wrestling, it is not uncommon to see numerous high-angle suplexes, drivers and DDTs where the victim is being repeatedly smashed on their head and neck, not as a result of a botch or an over-rotation but BY DESIGN. Many Indie fans and wrestlers aspire to be like some of these Japanese legends, and try to emulate them.

By its very nature, professional wrestling is a violent form of entertainment. Unlike boxing and MMA, however, the violence is scripted and to a large degree the wrestlers protect each other during the execution of these dangerous moves. Boxing and to a lesser extent MMA have come under fire for the potential damage being done to their competitors, but at the end of the day they are legitimate sports where the aim is to cause damage to your opponent. In boxing that damage is almost always chiefly directed at the head area. In pro wrestling, the moves and the matches are down to the performers in the ring and ultimately the risk and responsibility lie with them. It is not necessary to drop people on their necks or swing metal objects at their heads in order to "win".

Despite this, serious injuries continue to occur. I will never forget hearing about Droz's paralysis, which came about from a relatively "safe" move performed by an experienced wrestler, a running powerbomb. It's a move I've used myself from time to time, but since the incident D'Lo Brown has never used it again. He gets it, because it has affected him. People like Edge, Kurt Angle and Rhino have all had their necks broken, yet they continue to take shots to the head and to get dropped on their necks. They continue to take risks with moves like moonsaults that could easily result in concussions if done wrong. With many pro sports a person with a concussion takes time off until the team or league medical staff is satisfied that he has recovered from any ill effects. In wrestling this doesn't happen nearly enough. Taking a few weeks off for a condition that often has no obvious symptoms can be a death knell for any push you are getting or in line to get, and in the case of people with a history of injuries it might even cost you your roster spot (see Kennedy, Ken). Pro wrestling still holds to the very outdated image of a concussion as "being knocked loopy" and "you'll be fine with a night's rest and some Tylenol". The rest of the sports world has moved on from this, and although Vince McMahon and Dixie Carter may want to distinguish themselves from pro sports as much as possible, they should not be lax in this regard. The issue of head injuries and brain trauma is every bit as serious as the steroid issue, if not more so.

So what's it going to take? Broken necks didn't do it. Wrestlers getting paralyzed didn't do it. A high-profile wrestler going insane and killing his wife and child before killing himself didn't even do it fully. At this point I am convinced that the only thing that will make professional wrestling as a whole sit up and take notice is if someone dies in the ring from brain trauma. Legendary Japanese wrestler/promoter Mitsuharu Misawa did die in the ring, but it was from heart issues. With the amount of head drops he's taken over the years, it's remarkable that he didn't fall victim to a head or neck injury. Why is a "sport" that can so easily take out much of the danger refusing to do so? I have said in the past that an in-ring death due to a move will kill professional wrestling in North America, and maybe it deserves it.

It's A Family Affair

From reader Shane Howard, who totally needs to put me on his radio show: Nepotism in the business

Well this is an interesting one. Everyone knows it exists, yet we so rarely hear about it as a negative. Except as it relates to Triple H of course, and in his case it's a spurious argument (HHH was already in WWF when he hooked up with Stephanie, and was over enough to be champion). What cases of nepotism have we seen in professional wrestling? Who wouldn't have got where they were without it? Is there even any way to stop it?

The problem with a term like nepotism is figuring out what does and does not "qualify". Dictionary.com defines nepotism as "patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship, as in business and politics". I would add to that the caveat that it's undeserved patronage which constitutes nepotism. For example, Shane and Stephanie McMahon did not walk into executive-level jobs with their father's company; rather they started at the lowest level (ring crew in Shane's case) and worked their way up. Right off the bat we can disqualify the most obvious case of family hiring in wrestling. Don't you worry, there are plenty more.

Wrestling has always been considered a family business. Over the past several years, the only major promotions that weren't family owned and operated were ECW and WCW. Even WCW was born out of Jim Crockett promotions, which was certainly family-owned. As a result, guys who wrestle tend to become guys who run wrestling, and their kids become wrestlers. The most rudimentary logic will tell you that if a guy who runs wrestling has a kid who wrestles, chances are the guy is giving his kid a shot. Verne Gagne brought in Greg and pushed him to the moon. Jeff Jarrett was never as over as he was in CWA and USWA, winning almost 30 titles in his dad's promotion. The entire Von Erich and Hart clans got started in their dad's promotions and pretty much dominated them, although less so in the case of Stampede and the Harts. The Funks broke in through Dory Funk Sr's NWA territory which was based in Amarillo. Finally, although he didn't OWN the company at the time, Cowboy Bill Watts brought his son Erik to WCW and pushed him repeatedly.

Would any of these kids have made it big without their fathers being in charge? In most cases, yes. Of the list above, only Erik Watts and possibly Greg Gagne were pushed above their talent level. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who would say that either of the Funk Brothers got overpushed, and nearly all the Harts were solid hands. Those that weren't were quickly removed from competition and given different jobs in the company at which they could excel. Similarly, the von Erichs were all talented and popular and deserved what they got in terms of pushes. Jeff Jarrett may not has had as much success outside of Jerry's companies, there's no doubt that in WCW at least he was very successful. Although Shane McMahon would likely never have got in the ring had he not been a company executive, it's hard to say he hadn't paid his dues. You also never hear disgruntled former WWE talent complaining about Shane. Looks like out-and-out nepotism might not be as rampant as we thought.

There's another way that family influences can bring people into the business though. Cowboy Bob Orton, Dusty Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, Rocky Johnson and Ric Flair all called in favours to get their kids into WWE's developmental system, from whence all but David Flair went on to success in WWE proper. Although you can say that all of these guys deserved their shots, would they have got to developmental without their fathers being who they are? Is this really a sign of nepotism though, or is it more a case of wrestling being a very close-knit society? I think it's far more the latter, and the evidence is not hard to find to support that assumption. Is there nepotism and croneyism? Absolutely. Is it widespread and a plague on the business? Nah. No more so than in any other business.

Back in Black

From reader Kenneth Uphoff: The IWC's desire to see a black wrestler as world champion. This is not meant to be racist in any way, shape, or form, but seriously it has been too long since Booker was champ. I push for Shelton personally.

This is a topic I've touched on before, but I have no trouble doing it again. Simply put, a black man has NEVER held the WWE Championship. No I'm not counting The Rock in that, he's half black. With that said, there is still the World championship, which Kenneth rightly pointed out has been held by Booker T. Will another black man ever hold it? If so, who?

First off, I don't think there IS a desire on the IWC's part to see a black world champion, any more than any other person. About the only minority that would bother the IWC is an openly gay champion, which is pretty pathetic really. I think the real issue here is the IWC's desire to see Shelton Benjamin as a champion, a clarion call that has been sounding on and off for years. Unfortunately, it's highly unlikely to happen at this point. Shelton has been around now for 7 years and is 34. He's already hit the peak of his overness during that short program with HHH in 2004, and since then has never managed to get the same reactions from the crowd. Now part of that has to do with the way he was booked, but it also comes back on Shelton himself: if you're that good, you can overcome bad booking.

I can see two ways for Shelton to get himself a title run: ECW, or as one of Vince's famous "long service award" title runs. There are a few men in WWE who would be above him in the "pecking order" (I highly doubt there actually is one) to be the next black world champion. If you're talking just WWE, then Kofi Kingston would appear to be your best bet. Since dropping his ridiculous accent he's received a huge push, a main event feud with Randy Orton, and has shown that he has natural charisma. In fact, he's more exciting than Shelton in the ring, just as athletic and less prone to botches. The only thing Shelton has on him is technical acumen, which counts for exactly jack and squat in WWE these days.

TNA has no obvious candidates. I would put Lashley at the top of the pile, but it's a very SMALL pile. Lashley is too focused on MMA for TNA to trust him with the world title, but he is a guy with name value who might be able to draw in some cross-market fans, especially if he keeps winning MMA fights. It's not like he has a lot of competition in TNA – Consequences Creed, Jay Lethal and Brother Devon are all tag-focused and unlikely to get into the title picture.

In RoH our choices are even narrower, but I do think that Kenny King has a legit shot at being RoH champion. Blessed with even more athleticism than Kofi or Shelton, a lot of charisma and a gimmick that suits him, Kenny also has an advantage in the quality of his in-ring teachers in RoH. If he is able to get a title run there, it could well open the eyes of other companies and get him a lucrative deal.

What I'd like to do here is point out how sad it is that this conversation even needs to happen in 2009. Why are we still talking about racial bias in a global, multi-million dollar company? As fans, do we really still believe that the colour of a wrestler's skin matters to anyone? Certainly not Vince McMahon, who is all about dollars. No there hasn't been a black WWE champion, but if we're being honest how many black wrestlers have MERITED a title run? Let's just watch some wrestling.


Moment over. TWITTER BREAK!

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To everyone who contributed topics...I won't be discarding them. They're in the bank, either for a future Serious Round Table or for a column of their own. If you want to get in on this next time I do it, simply follow me on Twitter! I'm out of here to hit some Modern Warfare 2. Happy Thanksgiving, Americans! Thanks to Mat Sforcina, Aaron Hubbard and my topic contributors for their help with this column, and of course to all of you for reading.

Stay Cool, Rock Hard. Lansdellicious – Out.